Brush Clearing Companies

What to look for in a brush clearing company?

Obviously, we think Firescape is your best choice of brush clearing companies in California. However, we will elaborate on what you should look for in a brush clearing company so that you may come to that conclusion on your own.

First of all, you need to decide what it is that you are trying to accomplish? You may wonder why this is important. There is a difference in what each company is best at doing. Find out what their fortay is prior to researching anything else. For example, Firescape is composed of mostly firefighters, including professional full-time, volunteer and seasonal type employees. If the intent of your project is to eliminate or lessen the effects of wildfire on your home, then choosing a company that uses employees with wildfire suppression experience and training should be the number one qualification. We use our personal firefighting experience while we are removing or thinning brush for you allowing us to minimize the negative aspects of removing too much brush. We evaluate the probability that leaving a lower limb on a tree or Manzanita bush will cause your home to burn down. There is no way to guarantee that leaving or cutting it will cause the home to survive or succumb to wildfire but it does allow us to make an educated decision using our firefighting knowledge whereas a certified arborist or tree company does not have that sort of experience.

Second most important qaulification to consider is the type of employees the company uses. This is important for many reasons. First, if the tree company you decide to use to remove brush and prepare your home against wildfire employs personnel who are un-documented or illegal aliens, then chances are that employee is not covered on the tree companies workers compensation insurance. If the un-documented, illegal alien worker accidentally cuts his leg off while working on your project you may eventually be sued!

Further, our economy is dependent upon many things but one of the driving forces for success or failure is our unemployment rate. Every project that uses undocumented, illegal aliens to complete the work takes away yet another opportunity for a legal citizen to work. Now many people say that legal citizens, mostly white, won’t do the kind of work that the illegals or undocumented workers will do. That may be right now. But, if a company like Firescape were not consistently underbid by a company who employs illegal, undocumented workers then Firescape would be able to hire more people who need work but require a liveable wage. The dichotomy is simple, Firescape must charge more per hour to cover expenses such as workers compensation insurance, un-employment insurance, training taxes, etc. which causes our overall rate to be higher than say Brand X tree company.

Here is the problem written out:

Firescape Employee Wage/hour $15
+workers comp insurance/hour $3.50
+training tax/hour $.20
+Fed State unemployment tax/hour $.65
+Employer (Medical) $.25
+Employer FICA $1.00
Total per hour actual cost is $21.60

Brand X Tree Company Wage/hour $15

Now you can see that without even considering the company margins, Brand X enjoys a $6.60 per hour rate advantage. This in turn forces a company like Firescape to lower their profit margin down just to be able to compete with Brand X prices per hour. In the end, people who choose to employ companies who hire undocumented, illegal aliens are exposing themselves to potential litigation from injuries sustained on their project, suppressing the ability of potential legal workers to find employment and causing law abiding companies to compete at a financial disadvantage to their non-law abiding competitors.

Keep in mind that if Brand X Tree Service offers you a discount if you pay cash for the work to be done, there is a very good chance that they are using un-documented workers. By being paid in cash, they can employ whomever they want without ever documenting the job as income or reporting wages.

Another final reason for ensuring the hiring of companies using documented workers is that for every dollar you pay them to work for you without contributing to unemployment insurance, medical and workers compensation insurance you are short changing the governements ability to provide the afore mentioned services. You should know, that when the undocumented worker gets hurt on your project he or she will then seek FREE medical treatment at the local hospital, in turn causing healthcare costs and health insurance costs to rise further. Guess who pays for that? Yep, its you and every other documented legal worker who pays taxes.

Speaking of insurance. The third important qualification is insurance. Does the company carry the following: Workers Compensation Insurance, Professional Liability Insurance, General Liability Insurance an Umbrella Policy and Automobile Insurance? Firescape carries all and does so with very high levels. This is another added financial burden we carry in order to protect our clients. You, as the home owner, should demand this of whomever you choose to work for you. Some Brand X companies choose to be bonded. That, I cannot intelligently speak to so please research that on your own.

The last, but not least important qualification is licensing. Refer back to the first question I asked of you. What is the intent of your project? To remove brush, limb trees and prepare a defensible space? Or is it to shape, trim, care for or remove large trees within striking distance of your home? The two are very different!

Lets address the latter question. To be upfront and honest with you I will tell you that Firescape does not pretend to be arborists nor “Tree Surgeons”. We do not climb trees and take them down using cranes and machinery. We do not advertise ourselves as being tree experts nor do we have the personnel who are trained to work on large trees within striking distance of the home. Further, we are not I.S.A. licensed arborists nor are we licensed landscapers. What we are is defensible space specialists with a focus on wildfire prevention through the removal of brush, fallen trees, limbing of trees from the ground, roadway clearance, roof and gutter cleaning, chipping, hauling and mowing.

The California Contractors State License Board certifies us as “exempt” from licensure because their is no licensing requirement for what we do, as of yet. Currently, Firescape is pursuing the development of a category that would be available for licensing. Obviously, we will be fighting to include some sort of wildfire experience and training to be eligible for this sort of license. But, as you now know, that just makes good sense. After all, we dont pretend to be tree specialists or arborists thus giving us the right to say that ISA Certified Arborists are NOT specialists or trained to protect your home from wildfire!

In closing, remember to choose a company that can show you that they use documented legal workers. Don’t use illegal undocumented workers for they have the ability to hurt you financially and they cause harm to our social services system and competing industry participants. Second, use a company that is suited to your project. Use Firescape for wildfire protection, brush removal, mowing, tree limbing, chipping, etc. Do use a Certified ISA Arborist for specialized tree work such as cabling, crane removal of trees, tree climbing, etc. If you are unsure about an Arborist, ask us. We refer clients to many different Tree Companies that do great work and we are not afraid to tell you that either. Third, make sure they are well insured or properly bonded. If the work falls more into Specialized tree work, make sure the contractor you choose is a certified one. You can check their license at: